What does Miktam mean?
Its precise meaning is unknown. Proposed translations are possible but should not control interpretation.
PSALM 16 — THE HOLY ONE WHO WILL NOT SEE CORRUPTION
What does Miktam mean? Study Psalm 16 with context, apologetic analysis, and cross-references.
Psalm 165 questions
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Commentary provenance
Dr. Lucas D. Shallua Commentary · PSALM 16 — THE HOLY ONE WHO WILL NOT SEE CORRUPTION
The precise difficulties
- What does Miktam mean?
- Does “no good apart from You” deny the goodness of creation?
- Did David expect resurrection?
- Is “Holy One” David or Jesus?
- Does setting God at the right hand guarantee no hardship?
Verse and question study
Does “no good apart from You” deny the goodness of creation?
No. It says created goods have their source and proper enjoyment in God; they cannot replace Him.
Did David expect resurrection?
He expresses confidence that fellowship with God exceeds death's threat. The New Testament says the words prophetically anticipated Christ beyond David's own burial.
Is “Holy One” David or Jesus?
David speaks as the psalmist and covenant servant, but because he decayed in the grave, the promise finds its complete historical fulfillment in Jesus.
Does setting God at the right hand guarantee no hardship?
No. It promises covenant stability and support, not exemption from suffering or physical death.
Historical and literary context
Genre: psalm of trust with resurrection and messianic significance. Superscription: “A Miktam of David.” Miktam occurs in Psalms 16 and 56–60; its meaning is uncertain, with proposals including inscription, golden poem, or covering song. No historical occasion is named. David can speak genuinely of confidence beyond death, yet Acts 2 and 13 stress that David died and his body decayed. The words therefore exceed his own experience and prophetically reach the Messiah. The psalm's resurrection hope grows from covenant communion: the God who is David's portion will not abandon His faithful one.
Apologetic note
Acts does not ignore Psalm 16's Davidic setting; it reasons from it. David authored the words, died, and remained buried, so the language about escape from corruption exceeds him and points to the promised descendant. This is typological-prophetic fulfillment grounded in textual tension rather than arbitrary allegory. The psalm also presents resurrection hope as whole-person communion, resisting both materialism and escape from embodiment.
Chapter cross-references
- Numbers 18:20 The LORD is the Levites' portion and inheritance
- Psalm 73:23–28 God Himself remains the heart's portion forever
- Psalm 110:1 The right-hand place carries royal and divine significance
- Matthew 28:1–10 Jesus rises bodily from the grave
- Luke 24:44–47 The Psalms testify that the Messiah must suffer and rise
- John 20:24–29 The risen Jesus is bodily recognizable and alive
- Acts 2:22–32 Peter applies the corruption promise to Jesus' resurrection
- Acts 13:32–37 Paul contrasts David's decay with Christ's resurrection
- 1 Corinthians 15:20–23 Christ's resurrection guarantees His people's resurrection
- Philippians 1:20–23 Life and death are held within communion with Christ
- Hebrews 12:1–2 Jesus endures suffering for the joy set before Him
- 1 Peter 1:3–5 Resurrection creates a living hope and imperishable inheritance
- Revelation 21:1–4 Embodied life in God's presence ends death and mourning
Source and editorial status
Dr. Shallua’s Commentary
This study preserves the hard questions, explanations, context, apologetic note, and references from Dr. Shallua's Commentary.